Shelby native takes place in history

Monday

Dec 17, 2012 at 12:01 AMDec 17, 2012 at 9:50 AM

When “Lincoln” was filmed in Richmond, Va., last year, casting calls were issued to the area. Much like the filming of the “Hunger Games” in Shelby, the production needed hundreds of extras from the community. One of those extras, Lane Pearson, got the rare chance to act as a stand-in for Daniel Day-Lewis, the actor who played Abraham Lincoln.

Molly Phipps / mphipps@shelbystar.com

When “Lincoln” was filmed in Richmond, Va., last year, casting calls were issued to the area.

Much like the filming of the “Hunger Games” in Shelby, the production needed hundreds of extras from the community. One of those extras, Lane Pearson, got the rare chance to act as a stand-in for Daniel Day-Lewis, the actor who played Abraham Lincoln.

Pearson, an attorney originally from Shelby, said, “It was all just happen-stance. When they announced that they’d be filming the movie in Richmond, it was pretty exciting.”

Pearson realized it could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“So I grew a beard and grew my hair long and showed up in a casting call," he said. "They said they’d be in touch.”

On a Monday in November 2011, he received the call to be at the filming by that Friday.

Pearson said, aside from appearing in a Shelby High School production, he had no acting experience. But he was interested in the film since it was a true historical narrative.

“The fact that it was a historical drama was something that made it more interesting to me,” said Pearson, a history buff who majored in the subject before attending law school.

“Lane has had a particular interest in the Civil War since he was a child, and for years, beginning as a small child, would ask if he could join Civil War re-enactors," said Judy Franklin Pearson, Lane's mother.

Being in a movie like “Lincoln” fulfilled that desire to be a part of history.

WORKING WITH A LEGEND

As an extra in a major film production, Pearson said the days always started early.

“They would have the extras show up at 4:30 in the morning," said Pearson.

Then, they would be taken by bus to a holding area, where tailors would fit the extras to their outfits. Once an extra was fitted, they were sent into another tent for hair and makeup.

After that, extras were moved to large rooms in an office building, where they would wait to be called upon for a scene. When Pearson was called, he was taking the place of another person for a scene in which leaders argue in the U.S. Capitol over one of the amendments.

The first stand-in had to leave for Los Angeles, so Pearson was asked to step into his role, standing in for Daniel Day Lewis.

“When I was a stand-in, my real role was to be there while the different producers were fixing the set, to make sure they had the pasting and blocking right. Then they’d call Daniel Day-Lewis to film," said Pearson.

So, for one day, Pearson was able to work directly with Steven Spielberg.

“My first direction from Steven Spielberg was to keep my head down, because they needed continuity in the scene,” Pearson said. “He was constantly giving me directions. That was very cool for one night, to work with such a legend."

Pearson said he would definitely be an extra again.

“The hardest part is taking off work; it takes time. But the experience was totally worth it. I’m not a professional actor, so it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience," he said.

'MAGICAL TO WITNESS IN REAL LIFE'

Pearson said the best moment of that experience was when Daniel Day-Lewis spoke to him.

The extras had all been instructed not to speak or even make eye contact with Lewis, so that no one would break his concentration.

But as Lewis changed places with Pearson that day, “He looked at me and tipped his hat and said ‘Good evening,'” said Pearson. “It impressed me seeing Daniel Day-Lewis. Even when he said ‘Good evening' to me, it was as if he really was Abraham Lincoln. You hear about how extreme he is; it was magical to witness in real life.”

PRODUCING 'LINCOLN'

It was also magical to see the transformation of time that was made for the film, to make 2011 appear as 1865, Pearson said.

“A cool part of watching production was looking at how they would transform the streets of Richmond and the inside of buildings to make it look like it was set in the 1860s,” said Pearson.

Special mulch was used to cover the asphalt streets to make them look like dirt roads, and antique candles were used in the rooms.

Pearson said a great deal of effort was put into making the movie realistic.

“For example, the scene I (was) in is supposed to be inside the U.S. Capitol building. Back then, they were allowed to smoke," he said.

But with the scene being filmed inside the Richmond Capitol building today, smoking was not allowed.

“So to make it look like there were lit cigars and cigarettes on set, the assistants would burn incense and then run around and put it into the trays to make it look like they were smoking," said Pearson.

Live musicians were also on set, and an entire encampment on the grounds of the building was constructed for that same scene.

“They shot all night and they had several hundred extras on set. It really does make you appreciate how much goes into producing a movie,” he said.

CONNECTING WITH THE MOVIE

As a history lover and as an attorney, Pearson was able to connect with the movie personally.

“The scene where I was an extra, I was a clerk at the front desk and they were debating the 13th Amendment," he said. "As an attorney, these are things you learn about in law school."

"In real life, there was an actual clerk who was taking notes about that. It makes you appreciate how all those little parts in history fit into the larger parts of our time,” he said.

Reach Molly Phipps at 704-669-3339 or mphipps@shelbystar.com.

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